David Price Says He Will Not Opt Out Of His Massive Red Sox Contract

The Boston Red Sox are the on the verge of winning their 100th game of the season (it could happen Wednesday evening against the Blue Jays), and part of their success this year is due to the resurgence of lefty ace David Price.

Price and the Red Sox got off to a slow start after agreeing to a massive seven-year, $217 million contract ahead of the 2016 season. Poor performances, injuries, and a bizarre feud with broadcaster Dennis Eckersley left a lot of Red Sox fans with a bad taste in their mouth over the gigantic contract. There was some speculation that he would bolt from the team this winter, when he’s eligible to opt out of the final four years of his deal.

Price says he isn’t going anywhere.

“Why would I leave here to go to a team that’s not as good as this team?” Price told MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “I came here to win. I don’t worry about all the other stuff. Just come here to win. We’re going to have a really good chance to do that.”

Price is 14-6 this year, with a 3.57 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 158.2 innings pitched. Other than one really bad start against the Yankees on July 1, Price has been terrific basically since the end of May. However, he’s well aware that only the postseason performances are going to matter on a team like the Red Sox. Despite his regular season dominance, Price has never won a playoff start (he has two Wins as a relief pitcher, though).

“I could go 35-0 in the regular season with a zero (ERA) and it wouldn’t matter,” Price said, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “I need to win in October. That’s that. Regular season means nothing for me.”

The Red Sox recently became the first MLB to officially clinch a playoff spot, and their spot as the top seed in the American League is all but locked up. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their focus over the next three weeks of regular season baseball before the postseason begins.

Price is set to earn $31 million in 2019 and $32 million for the following three seasons.